Portraits of a Girl
In the series of drawings of pubescent girls, I’m trying to investigate the process of remembering. The drawings are essentially portraits merging the past and the present of the same person. They are trying to capture a journey backwards in time that the main character, the woman, is taking, as well as some of the dreams and turbulence of that same character in her youth, the girl. The emotional experience of the girl is recalled by the woman; in this manner, this is an encounter between the present and the past reflected through the eyes of present experience. The drawings are of experiences. Some of them are based on past events, and some are imaginary encounters of the same characters at different ages. The drawings are visual constructions reflecting on the imaginary reconstructions of memory. The drawings have the look of mementos, of old-fashioned photographs. There is a dose of sweetness and softness in the color and the form that brings a touch of sentimentality which is quickly dismantled by the painful straightforwardness and even cruelty of the subject matter. The drawings in a way trick the eye into belief in a sadness over the loss of innocence, but reflect on the inability to recollect a memory.
